EXBS: OMAN MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE FOR JANUARY 2009

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000092 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PARM PREL MASS MNUC KNNP ETTC MU SUBJECT: EXBS: OMAN MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE FOR JANUARY 2009 BROAD ITEMS OF INTEREST TO ADVISORS AND AGENCY MANAGERS 1.(SBU) None. COMPLETED ACTIONS FOR THE REPORTING PERIOD 2.(SBU) On January 18, 2010, the EXBS Advisor Team sent a dipnote to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting meetings for Vennie Pikoulas-Psaros, Middle East Action Officer visiting from Washington, DC. Meetings were requested with ROP Customs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Legal Affairs. MEETINGS DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD ¶3. (SBU) On January 9, 2010, EXBS Advisor Hoffman met with Saeed Abubakar, CBP Officer posted at the Port of Salalah who is working on the Secure Freight Initiative, to get a briefing on CBP work in Salalah. Saeed pointed out that the Omanis he works with in Salalah could benefit from more VACIS and radiation detection training. ¶4. (SBU) On January 30, 2010, EXBS Advisor Hoffman and Vennie Pikoulas-Psaros, Middle East Action Officer visiting from Washington, DC, met with Deputy Director of ROP Customs, Colonel Yassir Bin Mahmud Al-Ma'Mari, to discuss the status of the EXBS program in Oman. The EXBS team explained training to date, offered five new training courses, and extended an invitation for senior ROP Customs officials to visit the National Targeting Center and other U.S. Customs sites during a visit to the United States tentatively scheduled for June or July 2010. Col. Al-Ma'Mari was appreciative of EXBS work in Oman and asked EXBS to provide more detail on the proposed visit to the United States. ¶5. (SBU) On January 30, 2010, EXBS Advisor Hoffman and Vennie Pikoulas-Psaros, Middle East Action Officer visiting from Washington, DC, met with Shaikh, Dr. Abd Al-Malik Al-Hinai, Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, Ministry of Economy. The group discussed Omani steps toward the development of an export control law and the most appropriate Ministry with which to raise this issue. Dr. Hinai recommended pursuing the issue with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry given the authority they have in this area. ¶6. (SBU) On January 30, 2010, EXBS Advisor Hoffman and Vennie Pikoulas-Psaros, Middle East Action Officer visiting from Washington, DC, met with John Clarkson, POLE Chief, U.S. Embassy Muscat and Myca Craven, Deputy POLE Chief, to discuss the status of the EXBS program in Oman. ¶7. (SBU) On January 30, 2010, EXBS Advisor Hoffman and Vennie Pikoulas-Psaros, Middle East Action Officer visiting from Washington, DC, met with Victor Hurtado, DCM, U.S. Embassy Muscat, to discuss the status of the EXBS program in Oman and ways to engage the Omani government on the creation and implementation of a comprehensive export control law. DCM Hurtado thinks it is time to raise the USG desire for Oman to pursue an export control law with senior Omani leadership due to a lack of action to date. The EXBS Advisor and senior leadership at post will discuss a strategy for doing this in the coming months. ¶8. (SBU) On January 31, 2010, EXBS Advisor Hoffman and Vennie Pikoulas-Psaros, Middle East Action Officer visiting from Washington, DC, met with Captain Abdullah Al-Balushi, Director of Training, ROP Customs. The group discussed scheduling and participants for five upcoming training programs that EXBS will implement in Oman. Captain Abdullah is enthusiastic about EXBS programming and is willing to accommodate all of our proposed training requests. ¶9. (SBU) On January 31, 2010, EXBS Advisor Hoffman and Vennie Pikoulas-Psaros, Middle East Action Officer visiting from Washington, DC, met with Director for Disarmament and Arms Control, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yacoub Al-Ruqaishi and MFA Second Secretary, Aisha Al-Kharusi. The group discussed the EXBS program in Oman and efforts toward drafting a comprehensive export control law. Al-Ruqaishi requested that EXBS provide the Ministry of Legal Affairs with models of export control laws for their review that they could pass along to the Ministry of Legal affairs on behalf of EXBS. TRAINING CONDUCTED DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD ¶10. (SBU) From January 23-27, CBP carried out Land border Tracker Training in Sohar, Oman for 19 members of ROP Customs. Arizona based CBP Shadow Wolves Brian Nez and Bryan Gobert carried out the training, which included a day of classroom instruction and three days of practical tracking exercises in the mountains of Oman, including a night tracking exercise. EQUIPMENT DELIVERED DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD 11.(SBU) On January 31, EXBS delivered four RID kits to Captain Abdullah Al-Balushi, Director of Training, ROP Customs. IMMINENT TRAINING OR EQUIPMENT STATUS REPORT 12.(SBU) The EXBS Advisor Team is making preparations for two weeks of VACIS training in Oman from March 20-31, 2010. Training will include classroom instruction and site visits to the Port of Muscat, the Port of Salalah, and the Wyjaja land border with the UAE. Training will take place on VACIS mobile and stationary x-ray equipment previously purchased by Oman. 13.(SBU) The EXBS Advisor is planning to attend an EXBS sponsored and DOE-led Analysis of Strategic Commodity Transfers (ASCOT) workshop in Amman, Jordan, February 21-23, 2010. The EXBS Advisor will arrive several days early for consultations with Government of Jordan officials. SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN EXPORT CONTROLS, NONPROLIFERATION, OR RELATED BORDER SECURITY 14.(SBU) Nothing to report. PORTAL MONITOR ALERTS 15.(SBU) Nothing to report. RED FLAG ISSUES 16.(SBU) Nothing to report. Schmierer